Operating mechanism for car-doors.



M. H. PRIDDY.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR CAR DOORS. APPLICATION FILD 050.21. 1914.

1,154,053. Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAFH cm. WASHINGTON. D. c.

M. H. PRIDDY.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR CAR DOORS. APPLICATION FILED DEC.2I, 1914.

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r oration.-

MIELLS HGDGES PRIDDY, OF FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGN-OE OF TWO-FIFTI-IST0 HARRY M. Ii/EOKEE, FRESNO, CALIFORNIA.

QPERATING MECHANISM FGR CAR-DOOBSQ Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

Application filed December 21, 1914. Serial No. 878,432.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MInLLs l-lonens PRIDD a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Fresno, in the county of Fresno and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inOperating Mechanism for Car-Doors; and I do declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

My invention relates broadly to operating means for car doors and thelike, and has for its main object to provide a gear and rack mechanismfor this use, and to so construct the rack as to cause it to effectivelybrace the door and to simultaneously retain an upright operating shaftand a gear on said shaft, in fixed relation to the rack.

Further objects of. the invention are to provide simple and efiicientmeans for rotating the above mentioned shaft and for locking the sameagainst rotation.

With the above andminor objects in view, the invention resides incertain novel features ofconstruction and combination herein describedand claimed and shown in the drawings wherein Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a portion of a car showing the application of my invention;Figs. 2, 3 and d are horizontal sections taken on the lines 2 2, 33 and4l of Fig. 1; Figs. 5 and 6 are vertical transverse sections takenrespectively on the lines 55 and 66 of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a frontelevation of the lock; Fig. 8 is a vertical section as seen on the lines88 of Fig. 7 Fig. 9 is a view similar to ig. 7 but showing the pivotedlatch member swung laterally and the sliding latch member movedupwardly; Fig.10 is a vertical section as. seen on the line 10+10 ofFig. 9; Fig. 11 is a horizontal section taken along the plane of theline 1111 of Fig. 8; Fig. 12 is a vertical transverse section showing amodified detail of construction, to be described; and Fig. 13 is aperspective view showing still another modified detail.

In these drawings, constituting part of this application, aportion of afreight car C is shown which is provided with the usual verted L-shapedsupporting, plate 3 which may be secured thereto by the provision of anattaching plate & or by other suitable means. The plate 3 slides" freelywithin a similarly shaped plate or channel-way 5 which is secured byanyappropriate means to one side of the car C and is spaced outwardlytherefrom as shown.

The structure illustrated anddescribed at the upper and lower ends ofthe door D is merely illustrative ofone manner in which this door may besuspended for longitudinal movement, it being readily understood thatother types of door hangers could well be employed for this purpose.

Secured'by screws, bolts, or other appropriate fasteners to the outerside of the door D, is a horizontal rack bar 6 whose ends are providedwith a pair of integral rigid bracl ets 7 which project laterallytierefrom, these brackets being provided for the purpose of securing theopposite ends of a pair of truss rods 8 in position. The rods 8 arespaced one above the other and are located in parallel relation as wellas lying parallel to and spaced outwardly from the rack 6. By thisprovision, any tendency of the contents of the car to bulge the centerof the door outwardly, is positively prevented since this stress isreceived by the truss rods 8. As most clearly seen in Figs. 1 and 2, theleft handend of the rack 6 projects a slight distance beyondthe lefthandend of the door D to provide a stop 9 which is normally receivedwithin a socket 10 secured to the car in any appropriate manner. By thismeans, the door D is further prevented from bulging outwardly. The righthand end of the rack 6 projects a considerable distance be 7 thuspreventing outward movement on the part of said shaft, which mightotherwise allow the gear 11 to move out of engagement,

with the teeth of the rack bar.

From the structure just described, it will be seenthat the rods 8 notonly brace the car door 1), but that they retain the shaft 12 in properrelation to the rack bar and prevent the'gear 11 from shifting upon saidshaft.

As seen more particularly in Fig. 5, the upper and lower ends of theshaft 12 are mounted respectively in sockets 13 and 14 which are carriedby plates 15 and 16 which are secured respectively to the roof Rof thecar and to one of the sills S thereof, these'plates projecting outwardlyto such an extent as to position the shaft 12 a suitable'distance fromthe channel-way 5. Although this manner of mounting the shaft 12may wellbe employed upon some styles of cars, L-shaped brackets 16 (see Fig. 13)having sockets 14 in their horizontal arms,

- may well be provided in connection with other types, these brackets,as well as the plates 15 and 16, being designed primarily for use uponwooden freight cars. When the door'operating'means is to be provided inconnection with a steel car or, a car having steel sills S, as seen inFig. 12, L-shaped brackets 16 having sockets 16 in the upper ends oftheir upright arms and appropriate clamps 17 on thefree ends of theirhorizontal arms, may be provided.

With the parts constructed and arranged as above described, it will beevident that rotation of the shaft 12 will move the rack bar 6longitudinally, thereby opening or closing the door D as the case maybe. For the purpose of imparting this rotary movement to the shaft, thestructure most clearly seen in Figs. 1 and 3 is provided. In thesefigures, the lower end portion of the shaft 12 is shown as provided witha gear 18 upon whose hub a collar 19 rests, said gear being keyed to theshaft while the collar 19 is free to move thereon, this collar beingheld against upward movement, however, by an appropriate form of stop20. Pivoted at 21 to one or more ears which project laterally from thecollar 19, is a ratchet member 22 which comprises an upright portionadapted to engage the teeth of the gear 18 and a horizontal portion towhich one end of a horizontal lever 23 is pivoted, this lever being soconnected to member 22 as to allow it to swing downwardly irrespectivelyof any movement on the part of said mem-' ber, whereas upward movementof said lever will raise this member 22 out of'its engage" ment with thegear 18. It will therefore be seen that proper manipulation of the lever23 will rotate the shaft 12 to permit the necessary movement of the doorD. Under ordinary circumstances, when the door is closed, it becomesexpedient to provide means for locking the lever 23 in such a positionas to prevent dislocation of the ratchet member 22 from the gear 18,thereby preventing access into the car. For. this purpose, I provide thelocking means now to be described. g The, free end of the lever 23 (seemore particularly Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive), is provided with an uprightstud 24, the latter having an annular groove 25 near its upper end. Thisgroove 24: coacts'with a lock which may be briefly described as follows:

Secured to the door D, at an appropriate point, by the provision of apair of bolts' 26 and 27, is an upright plate 28Vwhose lower end isprovided, in its front face, with an upright groove 29, the bolt 27being provided with a fork 30- which is located in this groove .29. Thelower end of this plate is furtherprovided with a dove-tail guideway 31in. which a vertically moving latch member 32 is slidably mounted, thislatch member 32 having an appropriate stop for limiting its downwardmovement and being formed on its inner face :with' an upright groove 29"which co-acts with the groove 29 to produce a complete socket.

l/Vith the parts constructed as just de- 1 a direction as to causeits'stud'2kto be located' within the groove 29, theineck formed by theprovision of the groove 25 then being 7 scribed, the lever 23 may beswung in such Fig. 10 before this operation can take place. 7

By reference to this'figure, itwill also be seen that one end of thebolt 26 is provided tion by the provision of a pivoted latch member 33which is connected to the upper v end of the plate 28, the member's 33and 32 having perforated ears3 l which are adapted to aline and receivea seal 35 (see Fig 1). r

The structure just described is typical of one form of lock which may beemployed for securing the lever 23 against movement when the door is tobe lockedagainst sliding,

it being understood that any other appropriate form of lock could wellbe employed for this purpose. v

received by the fork 30, it being understood that the member 32 israised as seen in 1 member 32 may then be locked in this posi-' When thedoor is opened, it becomes eX- pedient to provide means for retaining itin this position. Since this may be well done by locking the lever s3against oscillation, I have provided a longitudinal plate 4-0 directlyabove the plate 16, said plate 40 having an opening through which theshaft 12 passes and a pair of ears 41 which straddle said plate 16. Bythe above described positioning of parts, the plate 40 will be spacedoutwardly from the car a sufficient distance to allow the lever-.23 tobe swung between it and said car as seen in dotted lines in Fig. 1,thereby preventing rotation of the shaft 12 until said lever is againraised.

I have described my invention with considerable detail and have setforth certain specific embodiments for carrying out the objects of theinvention but it is to be understood that I need not be limited to theseidentical disclosures, otherwise than as set forth in the appendedclaims.

I claim l. The combination with a sliding door, of a horizontal rigidrack bar secured to the outer side thereof and having rigid bracketsprojecting laterally from its two ends, truss rod extending through saidbrackets and lying parallel to the rack bar, an upright shaft disposedbetween the rod and the rack bar, a gear on said shaft and meshing withthe teeth of said bar, and means to rotate the shaft.

2. The combination with a sliding door, of a horizontal rigid rack barsecured to the outer side thereof and having rigid brackets projectinglaterally from its two ends, a truss rod extending through said bracketsand lying parallel to the rack bar, an upright shaft disposed betweenthe rod and the rack bar, a gear on said shaft and located directlyabove the truss rod, whereby the latter prevents downward movement ofsaid gear, and means to rotate said shaft, the gear being meshed withthe teeth of the rack bar.

3. lhe combination with a sliding door, of a horizontal rigid rack barsecured to the outer side thereof and having rigid brackets projectinglaterally from its two ends, a pair of parallel horizontal truss rodsspaced one above the other and having their ends secured to saidbrackets, said rods being also spaced from and lying parallel to therack bar, an upright shaft disposed between said rack bar and the trussrods, a gear on said shaft and lying between the two truss rods, andmeans to rotate said shaft.

The combination with a sliding door, a rack secured thereto, a gearmeshing with said rack, a revolubly mounted shaft upon which said gearis secured, a second gear secured to said shaft, a collar looselymounted on the shaft adjacent the second gear, a

substantially L-shaped ratchet member pivoted at its angle .to saidcollar, one end of said member being adapted for engagement with theteeth of the second gear, a lever pivoted to the other end of saidmember to swing toward the second gear, and means to lock said leveragainst such swinging movement.

5. The combination with a sliding door, a horizontal rack securedthereto, a gear meshing with said rack, an upright revolubly mountedshaft upon which said gear is secured, and a lever connected to thelower end portion of said shaft to oscillate horizontally, said leverbeing also mounted to swing downwardly, of a plate in which the lowerend of said shaft is revolubly mounted, a second plate lying upon thefirst named plate and having an opening through which the shaftprojects, and a pair of ears depending from the second plate andstraddling the first plate, the lever being adapted to be swungdownwardly behind the second plate.

6. The combination with a sliding door, an upright revolubly mountedshaft, connections between the shaft and the door for sliding the latteras the former is rotated, and a horizontally swinging lever for rotatingsaid shaft, of an upright stud rising from said lever and having areduced neck near its upper end, a lock body secured to the door andhaving a groove and a fork located in said groove, said body likewisehaving an upright guideway, a sliding latch member mounted to slidevertically in said guideway, and means to retain said latch member inlowered position, the stud being adapted to be moved into the groove inthe lock body and the neck being adapted to be received by the forktherein, when said latch member is raised.

7. The combination with a sliding door, an upright revolubly mountedshaft, connections between the shaft and the door for sliding the latterupon rotation of the former, and a horizontally swinging lever forrotating said shaft, of an upright stud rising from said lever andhaving a reduced neck, a lock body-secured to the door and having agroove in the lower end portion of its outer face, a bolt passingthrough the door and the lock body and having a forked end located insaid groove, the lower end of said body likewise having an uprightguideway, a vertically sliding latch member in said guideway, a secondbolt above said latch member and passing through the lock body andthrough the door, said bolt having a stop to limit the upward movementof said member, and a pivoted laterally swinging latch member pivotallyconnected to the upper end of the lock body and adapted to swingdownwardly over the vertically sliding latch member, when the latter is'loW- my hand in presence of two snbscribing ered, the groove in thelock body and the Witnesses. forked end of the bolt in said roove, loeinadapted to receive respectivelyrthe stud @113 MIELLS HODGES PRIDDY' 5the reduced neck thereof, When the verti- Witnesses:

oally moving latch member is raised. I MARIE JORGENSEN, In testimonywhereof I have hereunto set L. VAN BUREN.

Copies of this patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressingth e Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. 0.

